Barns in which animals are allowed to move around freely are well known in the art and frequently used all around the world. In the barn, cubicles large enough to house one animal are arranged within the barn. The cubicles are used by one animal at a time as an area where the animal can lay down and rest. One arrangement for defining cubicles within a barn is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,658 B1. The animal, for example a cow, is normally entering the cubicle by moving forwardly into the cubicle so that the head is positioned inwards, and the rear of the animal is placed towards the entrance of the cubicle. In order to position the animal correctly in the longitudinal direction within the cubicle a brisket board is arranged on the cubicle floor. When the animal lies down on the floor, the brisket board is in contact with, or placed close to, the animal chest in order to ensure that the animal does not lay down to far into the cubicle. A correct positioning of the animal is important to ensure that urine and defecate from the animal end up in the therefore intended area outside the cubicle.
The floor in the barn is normally made of concrete which is hard and during cold days very uncomfortable for the animal to rest on. It has been verified that cows living in a comfortable environment produce more milk. The floor in the cubicle is therefore often covered by an animal mattress in order to reduce the cold feeling when lying on the floor, and to provide a more comfortable environment for the animal. Different types of animal mattresses for use on the floor in a cubicle are disclosed in EP 0 684 760 B1.
The known brisket boards, and mattresses, are however time consuming to mount on the cubicle floor in a proper way and the object of the present invention is therefore to provide an arrangement that is considerably easier to mount.